Wait For It
by theresa.p
Summary: After escaping Hadley's Hope and killing the Alien Queen, Ripley was just about done with fighting. Everyone (and by everyone, there were only three humans and an android's upper torso) was preparing for the journey home back to Earth. Before sleeping though, Ripley had to have a little talk with Corporal Hicks.


Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop's upper body were the only survivors of the LV-426 mission. There had been so much death. Lieutenant Gorman, Sergeant Apone, Vazquez, Hudson, Spunkmeyer, Dave, Frost, and even that motherfucker Carter Burke. But she was used to it. Prior to this dreadful mission, Ripley's entire crew on the _Nostromo_ was wiped out in less than 24 hours by the xenomorph. It had scarred her, and she still got vivid memories and dreams.

Ripley was tending to her bruises while Newt was quietly sitting on the bed of her pod. Hicks was lying down, and so was Bishop. After she finished, she got up and walked over to Hicks.

"Hey, I want to talk to you in private," she said while gently shaking him. Dwayne nodded and stood up. The two of them walked over to one of the hallways of the _USS_ _Sulaco._

Ellen was the first to speak, "I just wanted to thank you for waiting for me while I searched for Newt. Most people that I have met in my lifetime would have taken that chance and just left, but you didn't. So thank you... Dwayne."

Hicks noticed Ripley look away and fidget a little bit. Her cheeks were also beginning to redden.

Dwayne chuckled, "Hey," he took her chin gently, "if it weren't for your knowledge about those alien fuckers, we'd all be dead in hours. _I_ should be the one thanking you. Ripley, what happened to you and your crew on the _Nostromo_ was devastating, and I'm happy as hell that we managed to kill them all. So I thank _you_ … Ellen."

Ripley smiled. How long had it been since she had a truly sincere smile? She didn't remember. In seconds, she trapped Hicks in a giant bear hug. The two of them stayed in this position for a while before she suggested that they ready up for cryo-sleep. As they entered the room, Newt gave them a big smile. She had overheard everything. In secret, of course.

First, Ellen put Bishop into his pod. Once that was done, she helped Hicks get into his pod.

"How long do you think it's gonna take to get back to Earth?" he asked.

She didn't know.

"I don't know, but I guess we're just going to have to wait for it."

Dwayne gently cupped her face before going into sleep.

Newt was the last person that was put to sleep, and then Ellen herself climbed into her pod.

* * *

"They didn't make it."

" _What?"_

"They didn't survive."

Those three words hit Ripley harder than an 8-wheeler going at 100 miles per hour. Ellen was literally shaken into reality. _They didn't survive? But how? Everything was perfectly fine… unless…_ something _could have sabotaged the pods._ Tentatively, Ellen asked for Dr. Clemens to perform an autopsy on Newt. There was a chance that a facehugger could have laid eggs within the girl.

There was nothing. Her body was natural, as the doctor had stated. Ripley couldn't believe it. Everything was taken away from her, even when she was _so close. Just why couldn't things work out?_ The doctor helped Ripley obtain Bishop, Newt, and Hicks' corpses, for they were to be cremated.

As the furnace was turned on, the bodies entered. First went Bishop, then Dwayne, then Newt. Dr. Clemens faced Ellen and gave her his condolences, then left the room. She knew that it was time to move on. Though the deaths hurt her too much, she had to be strong and find her way back to Earth again. As Ellen left the room, she looked back at the furnace. She studied it for a while and thought to herself: _There was something oddly different about Dwayne…_ She shook her head and thought nothing of it, turning back around and then proceeding to exit the room.

* * *

 **I just love the _Alien_ series, so here is a nice angsty fic. I also snuck in a sly movie fact/trivia at the end that most people don't know, so try to search the Internet to find out what it is ;)**


End file.
